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"I don't miss playings," says the retired Yankee, as the press-shy captain leads website The Players' Tribune, where DeAndre Jordan and Tiger Woods break news (sorry, ESPN) and backers are betting on a media home run

The writer behind hits like "American Girl" and "Mary Jane's Last Dance" discusses everything from songwriting to Jimmy Fallon's homage.

Forty years of practice has made songwriting harder, not easier, for Tom Petty.

"As life goes by, you get a little more carefree or distracted by other things and you have to really police yourself — I do — into sitting down and doing something that pleases me," the 63-year-old rocker said. "Plus, I'm trying to do things that I haven't done before and not go over the same ground."

The writer behind such hits as "American Girl," "Mary Jane's Last Dance" and "I Need to Know" will accept the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers' Founders Award on Wednesday in Los Angeles. Previous honorees include Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Billy Joel.

"It's very nice to get an award for songwriting," said Petty. "I'm duly impressed."

His process is much the same as it's always been: Sit down with the guitar and see what comes. When inspiration strikes, "it's a very real magic," he said.

So magical, in fact, that he hesitates to examine it too closely.

"It's really hard to explain because I don't really understand it myself," said Petty. "I know that when we have time booked, like when we set aside time to make a record, that's when I usually get pretty — I guess I get 'on the job' as far as making sure I have enough songs, you know."

He sits and plays, recording bits here and there. The next day, he listens to what he did and either develops or scraps it.